February 18/00

Barry Williamson

Dalian
chronicles

he last two weeks have been

somewhat hard to endure. One by
one I said goodbye to each of the
instructors as they left for the holiday
break. It was difficult knowing that
they are all off to warmer climates.
Here it is still so bitterly cold. I tell
myself that I will get used to it, but
everyday I check the forecast hoping
that this cold snap will end. Last
Saturday, it snowed all day and
everyone Said it is the most snow that
they have seen here in 10 years.

Douglas (Douglas Ma is the

husband of one of Barry’s colleagues
at work) tells me that Spring Festival
is such an important holiday partly
because it is the only time that
everything really shuts down in this
country and everyone gets a vacation.
Most working people do not get any
paid vacation at all. The few days at
Spring Festival is all they have in a
year. Even teachers work and attend
training programs during the semester
breaks. Only about five years ago was

the idea of a weekend introduced.
Before that everyone had a six day week
with Sunday the only day off.

They have shut off the heat in the
buildings on campus for the holidays. I
told Mr. Tian I couldn’t work under such
conditions and that I was going to work
from home. The next day he bought
space heaters for each office, including
his own. Now the rooms are tolerable,
but in the hallways and washrooms the
temperature is just a few degrees above
freezing.

Every floor of every building on
campus is assigned a cleaning lady. All
day long, every day, they continually
clean and clean, mopping and dusting
everything in sight. The only thing I
hate is that they come in the Men’s
room while I’m standing at the urinal
and clean around me. It doesn’t seem to
bother anyone that they do this. Another
thing I hate about public washrooms
here is that the toilet paper dispenser is
always located outside the washroom in
the hall. So everyone, men and women,
stand in line to get their paper and
everyone knows how many squares of
tissue you use.

Last week I had to go to Beijing to
attend a meeting at the embassy. I had a
few hours to spare before the meeting
started and took advantage of the time to
visit Mao’s tomb. The great Chinese
leader is preserved and on display in a
crystal casket. He looks like a wax
figure from a wax museum. Each
morning he is mechanically raised into
position from a freezer below the floor.
It is the law in China that everyone must
be cremated and Mao himself wanted
the same. His successors, however,
couldn’t allow such a fate for this
immortal figure.

The last few days I have been
suffering with a cold in my chest and a
bad cough. I began to feel like I was
also getting the flu. Elle at work gave
me some Chinese herbal medicine to
help me. Two pills, twice a day is what
the package said. The active ingredients
are ground pearls and toad venom.
Strangely enough the next day I started
to feel better very quickly.

It was time again that I attempt to get
my haircut. After the last disaster I was

not anxious to go, but I desperately
needed to have it cut. This time Miss
Ma’s husband, Douglas, recommended
a place and gave me directions. I went
to this apartment a block near mine.
Nothing outside indicated that it was a
hairdressers except for the white towels
hanging out on the line to dry. I
knocked on the door and was
welcomed. Douglas told me it should
cost 8 yuan ($1.30), but they asked for
30 and I bargained them down to 20. I
asked for the young guy that Douglas
recommended. He applied shampoo
and a little water from a spray bottle.
He then gave me the most wonderful
massage for about half an hour. He cut
my hair exactly as I wanted it.

Bye for now,
Barry

@nformer